Affordable Housing

> Stevebosserman

The $300 House: Go, Go, Go! - Vijay Govindarajan. By Vijay Govindarajan | 9:53 AM April 20, 2011 Editor’s note: This post was written with Christian Sarkar, a marketing consultant who also works on environmental issues.

It is the last in a series on conceiving and building a $300 house. Today, we’re launching an Open Social Co-creation Contest, sponsored by Ingersoll Rand and hosted by Jovoto, asking everyone, from designers and architects, students and professionals, to submit their designs in an effort to find affordable housing solutions for the poorest of the poor. The mission? Design a simple dwelling that can be constructed for under $300 which keeps a family safe, allows them to sleep at night, and gives them both a home and a sense of dignity. Winners will be selected by the community and a panel of judges and will receive a scholarship to a June “prototyping workshop” led by COMMON, a social business incubator. At the end of the prototyping workshop, we hope to have a model or two to test in the field, as part of a pilot project.
Dwelle. sustainable micro-buildings... zero carbon sheds for living, micro homes, garden office studios, holiday cabins, play rooms, home gyms and beach huts.

Green Prefab Shed Homes: Small Space Living by Design. Sheds do not sound like something you would want to live in, but as modern modular, mobile and miniature houses become increasingly popular sustainable living space options, well, even products dubbed with titles like the Big Shed and Little Shed is not such a bad idea.

There is an art to designing smalls-space structures so they are convenient and compact but also comfortable and livable – and a certain lifestyle of simplicity sought by many that makes them a good match for some people.Plus, these designs by Dwelle are relatively affordable as home prices go: you can buy ones of these all-in-one buildings (and not worry about the hassles of construction) for between fifty and eighty thousand dollars. This surprisingly cheap and simple-yet-modern shed home is has its own living area complete with fireplace, elevated bedroom loft space and separated restroom and cooking areas.
Help in a Hurry: Disaster-Relief Container Homes for Japan. Abstract designs and architectural theory are well and good, but when the stuff hits the fan (or tsunami hits the land, as it were) these notions are put to the test in a very rapid and real way.

The result shows who is ready to roll out workable housing solutions to address catastrophes as they unfold. The Ex-Container project is a joint effort to address the displaced populations following widespread earthquake and tsunami devastation still unfolding in Japan. Cheap, easy and fast, container homes provided an obvious answer. Containers are of a size that offer a flexible framework in terms of location, transportation and domestic application – they are versatile-but-stable enough to make for makeshift residences, semi-temporary homes or long-term dwellings (or hotel complexes) depending on demand.

Interestingly, in this case it was determined that using manufactured, container-framed units would be quicker, simpler and more cost-effective than reusing existing containers.